Tuesday, June 26, 2012

Only One More Week!

I remember when I was little, my younger sister and I would re-arrange all of the gift boxes around the Christmas tree just about everyday during the month of December.

That's one problem with getting all this stuff together in a pile next to the bike is that you are tempted to go out and shuffle things around. Which is exactly what I did last night. Nothing major but removed some stuff, added a few things and moved some stuff around between the cases. The second set of riding gear seems to be taking up a lot of space and I keep trying to convince myself that I don't really need two sets of gear. My Firstgear Kilimanjaro jacket is what I use regularly unless the temperature is well into the 80s (°F), above that there just isn't enough ventilation. Looking at the weather report, it will be on the cooler/wetter side well into British Columbia.

Most of the stuff in the left case will be used when setting up camp and if it gets put away wet, no problem. The purple bags hold my Kelty two man tent, the black is the half cover for the bike , the red is the camp chair and the silver is the MSR fuel bottle. I am still considering installing a bicycle water bottle cage on the front of one of my side cases to carry the fuel bottle. I've never had a problem with it leaking but there's always a first time. The half cover for the bike is more for my sanity than anything real. Last month when I was staying at a hotel in Anchorage, I was always concerned about someone messing with the bike. Many times when I glanced out the window, there was someone standing around the bike, usually older, arms folded, probably harmless, looking at the bike. The camping chair may seem superfluous to some but I'm getting to old to still be comfortable sitting on the ground. Though my small closed cell foam sitting pad that I used to use when hiking or climbing is lining the bottom of the top box to be used if I need to work on the bike.

This is the contents of the top box. More stuff ended here than I planned and it is mostly stuff that could get wet. The total weight of the contents is right around 10 lbs. Not too heavy but kind of bulky. I can see why others really like a top box because it is way too convenient to put things into. My rain gear, heated liner and first aid kit is here since I may want access to them during the day. The thermos is in here not for convenience but for temperature. I have some medication that I need to keep between 40°F and 77°F. That is a really challenge on any kind of road trip but much more challenging on a bike.

The dry bag will be what gets thrown into the tent at a campsite as it has my sleeping pad and sleeping bag. The small red bag is a waterproof liner for my riding pants and may get left behind now that I have a new, still untested, one piece rain suit. The fleece jacket is the liner that originally came with my riding jacket and it is still one of my favorite light jackets. Chris from everydayriding.org suggested using the Gerbing liner as a light jacket but it just doesn't feel as nice as the fleece. Since there is room in the dry bag, I added it to the list.

I added a very small Fluke VOM (volt-ohm meter) to the list as it is only a few ounces and it is very difficult to troubleshoot anything electrical without one. I also color coded the check list. Green for camping, blue for bike/riding and brown for what I would take on any trip. I must be bored....

They used to but so many people travel with RVs now it's pretty difficult to find a campground with much more than a parking space. Many of the provincial campgrounds are very well equipped but since they are borderline free, they tend to be crowded. On all of my trips on the highway, maybe half had some sort of table.

If I were a thief I would go for "THE TANK BAG". All your valuables are nicely listed in that list.

Your idea of the half bike cover is great. I'll see if I have room to bring mine. I like the idea of using the liner as a light jacket as fleece is bulky. I may bring my GEL pad, use it for riding and then use it as a ground pad

Yep, the tank bag is like my daypack on all my other trips. In fact, I even have pack straps for the tank bag. If I end up wearing my non-mesh gear through Canada, the iPad and camera will probably get moved to the top box as I don't need ready access to them while sitting on the bike. The half bike cover was something I had never considered before my trip last May and it is kind of bulky.

I don't think you re bored I just think you are detail oriented. That is a good thing.

We too have monarch chairs and take them with us on moto trips. Sometimes you pull over onto a wide area of the road for a lunch break and don't necessarily want to stand the whole time. They are good for sitting around a campfire when the picnic table is too far away too.

Very kind of you but I think that I'm bored and want to leave TODAY. But can't....

On other moto-camping trips I've taken a much larger folding chair strapped across the seat. This one easily fits inside one of the side cases. I'm glad Stacy posted a review a few years back or I would have never even heard of the monarch chairs.

When I was a kid I always tried to pack everything. Then I figured I wanted to ride not camp and a lightweight bike is a source of fun. That said my new Kermit chair(thanks Riepe) is my desert island luxury. You're right, having somewhere to sit at alk times is so civilized.